Tag Archives: code

Quite some time ago, I happened upon Out of the Dark – a nonprofit in the UK where volunteers work with underprivileged kids to restore old furniture. The furniture is then sold online and the proceeds go back to the charity. Pretty awesome idea. I was so inspired by this, that I decided to bring it to Sacramento.

Luckily, I have volunteered for Vox – a local nonprofit art studio – on a fundraiser before, and I love the people behind it. I told Eric, one of the directors, about my idea and he loved it. We decided to get a fundraiser going to support the program, and there, Respect Your Mother was born.

Since Vox is near the closing of their brick and mortar and concentrating on working more in the community and supporting different local charities, this is the perfect time to reach out to another nonprofit. So we are working with another amazing local nonprofit Sol Collective, and the fundraiser will be held there.

The fundraiser will be held May 10, and we are even doing a couple things before the event:

Clothing Drive – We are working with California Clothing Recyclers to hold a clothing drive where people are encouraged to donate a large bag of clothing and/or linens at any of our participating locations. Those bags will be picked up by California Clothing Recyclers to be recycled, and the money earned will be donated back to our Charity.

Online Fundraiser – We are planning an online fundraiser for the week of May 4 – 10 and we are hoping to work with different eco-friendly online businesses to raise money for Out of the Dark, since they inspired this program. I haven’t worked out all of the details but I’m hoping to do something where people could purchase something and then enter a code for the proceeds to go to Out of the Dark.

At the fundraiser, we are hoping to have ten pieces of furniture that have all been painted by local artists and will be auctioned off. There will also be a raffle with goodies and gift cards from local businesses. We’re looking for ten eco-friendly vendors who want to purchase booth space for $25 to sell their goods and we’re hoping for an acoustic musician or two.

I’m still working on getting all of the information and graphics out, but I’m feeling really good about this event. I hope this program will succeed, because I would love to be able to work with kids on creating beautiful pieces from unwanted furniture. I think it’s so good to teach kids about working with their hands, taking pride in what they do and restoring something from start to finish.

If you would like to participate in this fundraiser, please let me know. There is lots you can do – whether you are in Sacramento, or across the globe. I will be posting more information weekly and you can contact me through e-mail or through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google +. I will also be posting some inspiration on Pinterest so check that out, too!